Adrian Seis keywords the Psi Game
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Templatings:
You and the Runner secretly spend 0[$], 1[$], or 2[$]. Reveal spent credits. If you and the Runner spent a different number of credits, …; otherwise, ….
(cf. Mganga)Play a Psi Game. (Players secretly bid 0–2[$]. Then each player reveals and spends their bid.) If the bids differ, …. If the bids match, ….
The new templating is more readable, much more skimmable, and even has the same length as the old templating (similar word/character counts), counting the reminder text (as @Saracenar said on Stimhack).
Design: I like that, for the Runner, a psigame “loss” (ie. differing bids) is mostly-but-not-strictly worse than a psigame “win” (ie. matching bids), since that's when--and only when--they can trash him. Psi-Sysops (aka. PsyOps?) add a different, bidding-based variance to the intrinsic, shuffle-based variance of HQ/R&D breaches (and for the Runner, to the ignorance-based variance in remote/archival breaches).
I also like Jinteki mobility (on self-move
-ing defensive upgrades like this, self-swap
-ping gearcheck ice like Tatu-Bola, and so on), which is like Jinteki trickery that's “softened” (with some “encounter opt-out” or “access opt-out”). For example:
Midori:
You may swap that ice with 1 piece of ice from HQ.
(the legerdemain) +The Runner may jack out.
(the softener).Toshiyuki Sakai:
You may swap this asset with an agenda or asset from HQ.
(the prestidigitation) +The Runner can choose not to access the new card.
(the loosener).
Compare:
- Caprice Nisei, the archetypal (and archetyping) defensive psi clone upgrade; although Adrian, unlike Caprice, is still trashable on failure (cf. the defensive bioroid upgrade Ash 2X3ZB9CY).
- Georgia Emelyov, the original “mobile sysop”: although Adrian is turn-based while Georgia credit-based.
In fact, the Liberation Cycle may have a whole cycle of “nomadic sysop’s” (ie. with When your turn ends, you may move this upgrade to the root of another server.
):
- Adrian Seis
- Vovô Ozetti
I think Phoneutria is one of the few ICE that punishes you for breaking it - Gold Farmer anyone? - sure, you didn't lose your cards, but now you're tagged... Unless you're mercury (equipped with a ton of bypasses) or you have rollerskates, ofc
— m.p